Finian won’t let the old man in – and for that reason I’d vote for him
OK – the annoying part first; former Junior Minister for Disabilities Finian McGrath is incapable of remaining silent if a microphone comes within a hundred yards of him. Heart in the right place and all that, but more than sometimes it felt like my head was melting as he went on and on... instead of answering the question.
But, his suggestion this week that he may be about to launch a bid to recapture a Dáil seat in Dublin Bay North is impressive, given that he’ll be 71 in April. (Who does he think he is, Joe Biden?) Seriously, his return to frontline politics would challenge rampant ageism in every nook and cranny of Irish society. Only this week a Co. Fermanagh man, supported by the Equality Commission, settled an age discrimination case against his former employer for £75,000. Ouch! He’s only a child of 60 and had been told by the company, after 30 years, that they were looking for younger professionals.
On Thursday Justice Minister Helen McEntee and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris withdrew their High Court appeal against Labour Court findings that two men, aged 48 and 37, had been discriminated on grounds of age by being refused employment as a Garda. The age limit for Garda recruits has now increased to 50.
Wolf Blitzer is still a CNN star in the States at 75 while here we’re having to put up with journalistic mediocrity as people like John Bowman and Seán O’Rourke take a backseat.
If Ursula von der Leyen worked in Ireland she’d be retired now, after hitting 65.
And then there’s the greatest of them all, Clint Eastwood, 93, still belting out films as actor and director. His second-last film, The Mule, came out in 2018 and at the end featured a song by Toby Keith, Don’t Let the Old Man In, the anthem for everybody intending to age disgracefully.
It included one line laden with philosophy and insight – ‘Ask yourself how old would you be if you didn’t know the day you were born?’ We set our own limits.
Finian McGrath’s possible return to Dáil Éireann, would be a massive blow for old Ireland – literally. I’d vote for him for that reason alone.